After choke protocol

[SportingSun]

I had my first experience with choke yesterday. I’ve been very fortunate that in my many years of horse ownership I have never had to deal with one of my horses choking (though I did have a border choke once).

I know the basics of management I think, including sloppy soaked feed with salt block chunks or rocks, feeding in a calm setting with a pan on the floor, and feeding hay spread out and on the floor. The emergency vet was unclear about management in the next couple days, so I called my old vet and asked for his advice. He said based on his history with infections he wanted him on SMZ’s right away, and to temp everyday as well. Fortunately the choke resolved itself once I got to the barn and was able to get him walking and lowering his head, and I didn’t notice him aspirating anything. I feel like the risk of aspiration pneumonia isn’t too high because of this but I agree with the vet that he should be on antibiotics just in case. He also recommended mostly grass with a little bit of soaked hay at night for the next few days.

Is there anything else that can be done? He’s already on soaked senior feed and I’m removing the alfalfa pellets I believe caused the choke (would not fully break up when soaked).
He’s 23 and very prone to emergency vet visits so I would like to do everything I can to prevent this from happening again!

[meaty_ogre]

This advice will be wildly unpopular, but with my prone-to-choke horse, withholding ALL feed/hay for 24 hours was very important. I know, it seems like torture, but there can be a lot of inflammation and if that is not resolved fully, even the soupiest, sloppiest soaked mash or hay can trigger another episode. I felt like the world’s worst horse owner feeding my other animals, and keeping one in a stall with only water.

And if that isn’t crazy enough, I also syringed red wine down her throat. Riunite Lambrusco, because it was the cheapest stuff I could find. But, it’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and it made me feel better about starving her. It was suggested by a racehorse owner.

So yes, crazy suggestions I know, but what I can tell you is this: I had a mini who had lost most of her teeth, quidded her hay and was prone to choke. Even soaking her feed and hay and medicating with antibiotics or banamine did not seem to ward off the next episodes. The last time she choked, I withheld all food for 24 hours, syringed her a bottle of red wine, and she never choked again as long as I had her.

[Posting_Trot]

My horse choked twice several years ago, and I found that not all vets take it as seriously as they ought to. (I ended up switching vets because my first vet basically took a very laissez-faire attitude about it).

One thing that I learned is that it is useful to give the horse some oral banamine every day for the next three or four days after a choking episode. It’s pretty common for a horse to choke a second time shortly after the first time, because the first choke causes swelling and inflammation in the esophagus that increases the chance for a second choking episode.

You also should have a vet or dentist look carefully at the horse’s teeth and mouth to see if they can find a cause for the horse’s choking.

It’s also possible that the horse choked previously, but that you (or someone else) were not around to witness it. That’s another good reason to put the horse on SMZ’s.

[merrygoround]

Banamine for 3 days-I use the injectable under the tongue. Antibiotics are also a good idea for a minimum of 5 days, depending on which one you use. I allow them to graze, but for the rest of their life, I will soak all grain.

Be very alert to any respiratory difficulties, in the next week.

[Pennywell_Bay]

I had a chronic choker as a boarder. His owner spent a lot of money getting him scoped and work ups done on him at Mid Atlantic and New Bolton. They never identified a physiological cause.

1. I soaked his grain daily.
2. We tried a big rock in his bucket to slow him down (didn’t work)
3. We always monitored him more closely than usual for 72 hours post choke for repiratory issues
4. Owner and I became an expert at IV banamine, as per the vet.I had a hold harmless contract signed by owner. When I say “chronic” I mean in the beginning it was almost every other day.
5. If it becomes frequent, take him to a clinic and have him scoped.

Oddly enough, his incidence dropped dramatically over the years. We never were able to identify WHAT caused it. Nothing showed up on the several scopes, his teeth were good, it was never with hay, he lived eating a soupy mess.

[enterata]

[QUOTE=meaty ogre;8148529]
This advice will be wildly unpopular, but with my prone-to-choke horse, withholding ALL feed/hay for 24 hours was very important. I know, it seems like torture, but there can be a lot of inflammation and if that is not resolved fully, even the soupiest, sloppiest soaked mash or hay can trigger another episode. I felt like the world’s worst horse owner feeding my other animals, and keeping one in a stall with only water.

And if that isn’t crazy enough, I also syringed red wine down her throat. Riunite Lambrusco, because it was the cheapest stuff I could find. But, it’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, and it made me feel better about starving her. It was suggested by a racehorse owner.

So yes, crazy suggestions I know, but what I can tell you is this: I had a mini who had lost most of her teeth, quidded her hay and was prone to choke. Even soaking her feed and hay and medicating with antibiotics or banamine did not seem to ward off the next episodes. The last time she choked, I withheld all food for 24 hours, syringed her a bottle of red wine, and she never choked again as long as I had her.[/QUOTE]

I don’t know about the wine but I do agree that it can be helpful to withold feed/grain for several days so inflammation can heal.

[Hermein]

I lost a horse to “choke”, which was caused by the esophosagus developing a flacid section that couldn’t move the food down. Very sad. I kept her going with slurried food a lot longer than I should have. Eventually, she developed pneumonia from inhaling the slurry, and that led to euthanasia.

Be very concerned if choking is repeated for any time at all. The diagnosis can be made by oral dosing of some liquid that shows white under Xray. Scoping doesn’t work.

She was a Friesian. Some lines of the breed are prone to this malady. If you buy a Friesian, do your homework before hand. It’s next to impossible to cure or to manage over the long haul. Surgery can be done, but requires removal of bone, and by the time it’s discovered, the horse is usually too old to be a candidate.

[Simbalism]

My horse choked about 5 years ago when boarding stable switched grain to a pelleted feed. She must have choked on her breakfast and it didn’t get noticed until afternoon. She coliced as well. She had to stay in a stall for a few days and nothing but water for first 24 hours. Then she was able to have small amounts of hay that had been soaked. She then progressed to a small amount of grain with soaked beet pulp shreds, fairly soupy. By the third day she was eating her normal ration of textured grain (3/4 of a pound) 2x per day. The fourth day she was doing fine and went back out on pasture.

[LauraKY]

My old boarder was a chronic choker. I fed TC Senior and when very well soaked it seemed to form a bolus in his throat. The solution was to add very well soaked hay cubes to the senior and mix well. I have a brilliant vet who came up with the solution.

[SportingSun]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the input! I followed my normal vets advice which was soak feed and hay, try to keep him on grass as much as possible, and start smz’s. Yesterday morning (12 hours post choke) it was clear he was miserable so I went and picked up some banamine which I have been dosing him with (oral paste).
He has very little interest in his soaked feed which means I am syringing his smz’s.

I’m worried that he is developing a respiratory issue because he is coughing occasionally. I don’t know if he is actually just coughing or if he is choking and clearing the choke. I have a call into my vet, who is unfortunately terrible about returning phone calls. In the meantime I’m not sure if I should allow him to have grass or just stick with thoroughly soaked hay. His temperature is normal though so I don’t think he has aspiration pneumonia.

[meaty_ogre]

It can take a while for the choke to resolve, which as others have said, is why they often have another episode (or really a continuing episode) after the initial choke. Maybe ask your vet if it might be helpful to abstain from all feed and hay for 24 hours to allow the inflammation and any residual crud to clear.

I know it seems cruel to withhold everything besides water, but it really was key in breaking the cycle for my horse. Until that inflammation and initial choke episode resolves, even the soupiest, softest soaked hay or grass is only going to further irritate the esophageal lining. And again, I don’t know for sure if the red wine was the great anti-inflammatory that the racehorse owner proclaimed it to be, but it was certainly cheap enough and easy enough to try.

[Kottbulle]

Everyone’s advice sounds good. My gelding has choked 3 times that have had to be resolved by tubing/vet. I tried each time to limit food but he became so upset we allowed him soaked chafe hay and really soaked pellets. He has always been on pellets but now gets them soaked along with SHREDDED best pulp. I emphasize shredded because in my experience the pellet beet pulp takes forever to soak and turn to mush and he hates it once it’s ready.
He tends to do fie with regular grass hay mixes now but I stay away from straight alfalfa mixes because he gobbles them down so fast that he tends to choke on them. he has never seemed to have a problem with grass. So I am now lucky he is at home and we have a lovely 3 acre grass paddock he can be on 12 hrs a day.
I would Also suggest having the horse’s teeth checked by a very good dentist. Part of my horses initial problem was that he was having issues with his back morals. He has a moderate parrot mouth and it was causing tons of problems with his back molars. He had a huge wave and was actually fracturing his middle molars. I was very upset to learn this because I thought I was a good horse mom having the vet out to float his teeth every year. I switched to a vet who specialized in teeth only and he has corrected the problem. He now has very good acculusion (so?) between his back molars so that’s he grinds things better. I still don’t trust it enough to give him dry pellets. So he gets everything soaked and has been choke free for several years now. And just turned 22.

[Pennywell_Bay]

[QUOTE=SportingSun;8150596]
Hi everyone, thanks for all the input! I followed my normal vets advice which was soak feed and hay, try to keep him on grass as much as possible, and start smz’s. Yesterday morning (12 hours post choke) it was clear he was miserable so I went and picked up some banamine which I have been dosing him with (oral paste).
He has very little interest in his soaked feed which means I am syringing his smz’s.

I’m worried that he is developing a respiratory issue because he is coughing occasionally. I don’t know if he is actually just coughing or if he is choking and clearing the choke. I have a call into my vet, who is unfortunately terrible about returning phone calls. In the meantime I’m not sure if I should allow him to have grass or just stick with thoroughly soaked hay. His temperature is normal though so I don’t think he has aspiration pneumonia.[/QUOTE]

1. Do not wait to contact your vet with these symptoms.
2. ASAP
3. It is easy to aspirate when they are experiencing a choke episode. This can lead to pneumonia . I know he doesn’t have a temp, but something’s not right.
4. I am not an alarmist. Call your vet.

[SportingSun]

As previously mentioned he is being monitored for aspiration pneumonia. He is on smz’s and is being temped 2x a day. The vet was already called about the coughing.